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FROM THE PASTOR

Are the commandments practical?

Once upon a time I lied about my age so I could see what it was like to work in a front bar, pulling beers and talking to people. I had just turned 17 and a close friend’s mum worked part-time behind a bar at various major horse racing events around Adelaide. One day she mentioned there was a few junior positions needed to collect and wash glasses at the Oakbank Racing Carnival on the upcoming Easter weekend.

Now, “Oakbank” is a small historic country town in the Adelaide hills and it holds an annual three day cross-country horse racing event attracting people from all over Australia. So this one year, my friend’s mum asked if I wanted to earn some pocket money over the Easter break. And I said, “Yes I’d be happy to. But what about working behind the front bar, I’ve poured beer from a keg before and I’m pretty good at maths!”. Little did my friend’s mum know I had never done anything like this before. She asked me how old I was, and of course, I said I was 18 years old. Resume complete, and I got the job.

After a few hours on the first day, I was asked to go to the members area to meet an official. I was thinking the worst and all hell was about to break loose, because not only did I lie about my age, but I had also lied about my surname so I didn’t have to pay tax after the event, and I lied to my parents, who thought I was there just to wash glasses.

So I sheepishly walked up to this well dressed official at the members area, and he said, “Are you Mathew?”and I said “Yes”. And he replied, “Come with me”. I thought right away, “Yep I’m done for! How do I get out of this?!”. Along the way, he asked how I felt about working in the members bar because they were flat out and needed extra staff! What a relief! And what an eye opener too! I could not believe how much money exchanged hands. Oakbank security staff had money carriers – people with cash bags coming through the members bar every half hour clearing out the tills! Never have I seen so much cash in all my life! It was better conditions too, instead of getting “coin” tips from the drunks in the outer – I was getting $5, $10, $20 notes in tips! That was a lot of money for a junior in the mid ‘80s. The temptation was there – it would have been so easy to slip a few extra notes in my pockets (security camera’ weren’t a thing then like they are now) but I thought I’d better not push my luck too far.

Most of the commandments are prohibitions, ‘you shall not...’, but the point of these commandments does not stop there. With each negative there is a positive. Keeping God’s command means not only avoiding temptation and the evil, but doing the good. For example, with the fifth commandment ‘you shall not kill’, God forbids killing and harming self or others, as well as hateful thoughts and words. But at the same time, God requires patience, kindness, gentleness and self control toward others, and saying things that help and befriend, rather than things that hate and hurt. This commandment not only tells us not to harm others, but also to forgive those who harm us. Once again, God’s holy command shows us how unholy we so often are. But there was one who kept this command holy, genuinely and consistently; even when tortured, even in his dying breath. In him, we too have forgiveness, forgiveness for our sins against God’s commandment, ‘you shall not kill’, and also, for all the other commands – do not steal, commit adultery, lie, etc.

After I told my friend’s mum my real age, she said, “You beggar!” (much stronger language was used). But straight after that she said “No one would have known, you looked like you’d been doing it for years – that’s one of the reasons why they shifted you to the members bar”.

Thank God for Jesus. Thank God for Easter. Thank God for Jesus who in his gracious spirit and presence, guides and leads us in his ways. Thank God for Jesus who prayed, ‘Father forgive them’. For us also Jesus died! For us also Jesus rose to life!

We Pray:† For peace in our hearts and lives, as well as for peace within our families and communities.† For members of the Australian Defence Force and their families.† For all who continue to suffer and have been physically and/or mentally broken by war including people in war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan,Sudan, Yemen and Myanmar† For world leaders, that they work towards diplomatic solutions that will lead to lasting peace and the rebuilding of lives and communities.